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Edina Pet Owner Saves Dog From Coyote Attack

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EDINA (WCCO) — Coyotes are showing up more and more in suburban areas, and people are starting to worry. In Edina, several homeowners recently spotted coyotes in their backyards. One pet owner even had to block a coyote from taking her dog.

Three weeks ago, Becky Bennett said her beautiful backyard retreat turned into a horrifying scene.

“He came up into the backyard to get her,” said Becky Bennett, who says she’s now afraid to let her pet out alone. “I heard her yelp and I just came running. I knew what it was. I knew he had her.”

Smokey, an 18-year-old Schipperke, was captured by a coyote.

“He was carrying her and was at the end of our property and going into our neighbor’s yard,” said Bennett. “I just came out the door and started running and yelling and screaming and being as big as I possibly could — waving my hands and screaming at it to drop her.”

Fortunately, the coyote let Smokey go. Her back suffered puncture wounds and it took her 10 days to be able to walk.

Edina Police sent in a sharp shooter to look for the coyote, but they didn’t find anything.

Meanwhile, a few miles down the road, several more coyotes were spotted.

“My dog was over in the grass and two coyotes were surrounding it and it was really quick, I ran and they took off as soon as they saw me,” said Linda Sherman.

Right now, Edina officials are checking around to see what other cities are doing about coyotes.

Homeowners are saying that something must be done soon before something worse happens.

“We’re lucky it was our pet and not our grandchildren,” said Bennett.

If you’re confronted by a coyote, the DNR says to make yourself look big, wave your hands and make a lot of noise to scare it off.

The DNR doesn’t keep track of the coyote population, but it does say it’s growing.